The Truth About Love
by xlifelongsorrowx
Summary: Love is a beautiful thing. Not that Kurt Hummel ever thought he would be lucky enough to find it. But after meeting Blaine Anderson, he starts to believe that maybe, just maybe, he might have a shot. AU-Pre Never Been Kissed. T for language and sensuality
1. Chapter 1: The Truth About Homophobia

There had once been a time in Kurt Hummel's life when he had looked forward to going to school, that Sunday nights had been spent buzzing in anticipation for the Monday the next day, excited to dressing in a unique outfit, and hanging out with the girls at recess.

Those days had long since passed.

Now Kurt was barely pulling himself through the days, hardly managing to bring himself to care. Even glee club, a club that had once been a bright shining ray of light in his day, had failed to make him happy anymore.

Slamming his locker shut, he automatically flinched, as his theory was proven to be correct, and Dave Karofsky loomed around the corner, shoving him into the cold steel of the metal locker, sending Kurt's books flying, and the smaller teenager sliding to the ground. He winced painfully, as his back exploded with pain. The locker slams had been getting worse over the past few months, and Kurt had begun to fear that his back would be permanently stained black and blue.

However, something was different about this time. This time, someone bothered to help him. Kurt watched in shock as a pair of hands reached down to help him, and two more sets began gathering his books.

Kurt looked up at the person, blinking rather stupidly, his blue eyes meeting a pair of hazel ones, with beautiful golden flecks surrounding the irises. For a moment, Kurt was enraptured by the beauty of the eyes staring soulfully down at him, but then his gaze traveled down to the hand outstretched. He stared at it blankly for a minute, before pushing himself off the ground, not paying the hand any more heed.

Now that he was on eye level with the other three boys, he saw that the boy clearly of Oriental descent, and the boy with the mocha colored skin had picked up his books for him. He took them from the helpful, yet naïve boys gingerly, making sure not to brush his skin against theirs. His actions were very deliberate, and while he knew they must come across as cold and bitchy, Kurt knew they were necessary. These seemed like nice people, though they were clearly uneducated of the ways of public school. He wouldn't make things harder for them. He had learned his lesson with Sam after all. At least he had been a muscular football player. The three boys in front of him hardly looked like much, but then again, Artie was on the team and he was in a wheelchair.

The boy who had attempted to help him up was slightly shorter than Kurt, by just a few inches or so. For some reason, that fact sent a little thrill down Kurt's spine. He always liked boys who were taller than him-Finn and Sam for example-but he secretly yearned to be the taller one in a relationship.

Kurt quickly shook those unbidden thoughts away. He had known this boy for about two seconds. He knew he fell far too quickly, and far too hard to save himself from any pain, but this-even for him-would be absolutely ridiculous.

The boy had deep hazel eyes, and Kurt couldn't figure out for the life of him whether they were brown, gold, or green. It was a rich color, and it absolutely took Kurt's breath away. It was one of his favorite colors, because it often reminded him of his mother, who had adored hazel eyes, who had always told Kurt she married his father because of those hazel eyes. Kurt hadn't been lucky enough to inherit his father's hazel eyes, rather his mother's pretty blue ones. But when his mother had passed away, he had become grateful for his eyes, grateful to have some part of her imbedded in his body forever.

But more than his eyes, even just his hair fascinated Kurt. It was a beautiful chocolate brown, and so curly. It was goddamned gorgeous. The teenager's hair was curly, and Kurt had the urge to just reach out and touch, to see if it was as fluffy, as bouncy as it looked. Kurt always had appreciated good hair, and the boy had messy hair that he managed to look sophisticated and sexy.

The beautiful boy with the hazel eyes reached out a hand again, though Kurt saw something guarded in his eyes. Kurt's stomach lurched painfully. He knew that look. Kurt wasn't sure how this mystery boy had pegged him as gay so quickly, but he had. Kurt glanced downwards quickly, appraising his outfit. He was still clad in the black leather from the performance with the boys, and he had shed the scarf. All in all, it was a very generic outfit, he wasn't wearing anything that truly labeled him as gay. But somehow this boy knew, and it scared him, just like every other boy. Yet his hand did not waver, and he introduced himself, giving Kurt a name to think about.

"Hey there, I'm Blaine. This is Wes and David." He gestured to the boys slightly behind him, who waved at Blaine's introduction. "Do you need some help there?" The guarded look melted slightly, into kindness and compassion.

Kurt groaned inwardly. Just his luck. An amazingly hot, nice, kind person wanted to help him. And if Kurt had any compassion himself, he couldn't let this Blaine person ruin any chance of normalcy at high school by associating himself with the resident gay kid. Maybe he didn't know of Kurt's reputation yet, but he would soon figure it out.

Staring at the outstretched hand, Kurt shifted the bag on his shoulder, and turned to his ice bitch façade. "No." He said coldly. "I'm fine. And for future reference, you'd do well not to talk to me, or be seen around me."

Without saying thank you, or acknowledging the boys further, Kurt spun on his heel and walked away, ignoring the pain in his heart at being so rude, and turning down the one bit of kindness anyone outside of his close friends had shown him in a very long time.

XOX

Kurt sat in his car, staring at the windshield blankly, looking, but not really seeing. He didn't want to go home. He couldn't. He now had a black eye, to show for his smart mouth. The rest of the world might not care, but his father was one of the only ones who would. Kurt would have to figure out a way to sneak by his father to put on concealer, and how to conceal the fact that he was wearing make-up from Mercedes tomorrow.

He was surprised however, to hear a tap on the car door. Kurt instantly froze and stiffened, fearing the worst. No one could deny that Karofsky's bullying had gotten worse as of lately, now psychological, as well as physical. He did not need to be manhandled out of his car and beaten to a pulp in the school parking lot.

However, he turned and was faced with the large, kind, doe eyes of the ginger headed guidance counselor. Kurt sighed inwardly. Aside from the drunken 'Bambi' incident, he had never really talked to Emma Pillsbury, but he didn't really like her. She never really seemed to help anyone, only mess with Mr. Schue's emotions.

However, he cranked down his window, and poked his head out, interested in what she had to say to him. If she told him to stay strong and push through it, he might accidentally run over her perfectly clean car.

"Hello Kurt. I just wanted to say, I've noticed that some people at school have been harassing you, and I thought you might be interested in this." Oh god, she handed him a pamphlet. Just the other day Mercedes had been complaining about getting one labeled 'I Am Loud and Bold Because I'm Secretly Being Abused'. However when Kurt glanced down, he was surprised to find that it was an ordinary brochure about the Ohio teen gay straight alliance.

"I've called and said you were coming this Saturday." Ms. Pillsbury said in her kind quiet tone. "I thought it might help, knowing there are other people going through the same thing. If you don't want to go though, you don't have to."

And with that, she walked away, leaving Kurt to reconsider his feelings about the observant guidance counselor.

XOX

To say that Blaine was shocked would be an understatement. He had read the note that the McKinley High guidance counselor had given him, but it had just been a name. Kurt Hummel would be coming to the meetings from now on. Blaine hadn't known who that was. But now he had a face to place to the name. A homophobic teen who had declined his offer of help, specifically avoided touching him, because he presumably did not want to 'catch the gay'.

Blaine swallowed. There would be the occasional homophobe every now and then, but none that Blaine had ever known personally. Thankfully, Wes and David seemed to be picking up on his feelings. "Why don't we approach him together?" Wes suggested, always the rational voice among the three.

"We can confront him about his feelings, tell him that homophobic behavior is not tolerated, nor accepted here." David added, placing a comforting hand on Blaine's shoulder, a sign of friendship that Blaine so desperately needed.

As much as Blaine wanted to just shake his head and run away, he nodded. "Okay." He said, straightening his shoulders, ignoring the knot of dread that was forming in the pit of his stomach. "After all, it's been years since a homophobe got me down."

Although this one was admittedly the hottest one Blaine had seen in a long time. But he couldn't think like that.

As Blaine, Wes, and David approached, Blaine noted that his attire was very different from Wednesday, when he had been clad in a black leather jacket. He was now wearing even tighter skinny jeans-holy hell how had he fit into them?-and a loose graphic t-shirt.

Taking a deep breath, Blaine opened his mouth and started speaking. "You must be Kurt. We met briefly on Wednesday. I'm Blaine remember?" The blue eyed boy simply stared at him, his mouth open in something akin to shock. This may be harder than he had thought.

"Listen, we just wanted to let you know that homophobia is something we can help you work through. Being gay is not a crime, it's not disgusting. You may hold a different belief, but here, everyone is equal, gay or straight. While we accept that you're straight, that's your lifestyle. Myself and the other gay people here won't take kindly to homophobia."

Kurt simply dropped his jaw wider, and then a short brunette girl behind him decided to pipe up with her input, shocking Blaine, David, and Wes.

"Hummel? Straight? Oh please, he's gayer than a rainbow colored unicorn." She said, snapping her gum unattractively. Kurt simply rolled his blue eyes, but turned back to the three boys who stared at him in shock. "What she said, though I tend to be a little more verbose than Ms. Lopez over here. Speaking of which, you're hardly one to talk." He turned to her.

"I'm bisexual." She snapped at Kurt, her hackles obviously raised defensively. Blaine arched an eyebrow. And he was a little girl wearing a tutu. "You mean you're Brittany-sexual." Kurt said, his tone light and teasing. Blaine and his friends watched their interaction with interest, until Wes finally voiced a question he had been thinking.

"So, you're not out of the closet then?"

Kurt snorted. "Puh-leez. I've been told before that I'm so far out, I make Ellen DeGeneres look like she's in Narnia." This only sufficed to confuse the three further. It was David who voiced the obvious question. "Then why were you so cold to us on Wednesday? You didn't want to touch us, or accept our help or anything."

Kurt shrugged again, and Blaine noted how skinny and sharp his shoulder blades were. They were quite attractive. "I'm the school's resident gay kid. If you're seen around me, you get a slushy to the face. If you talk to me in a tone that's not harsh and derogatory, you get slammed into a locker and labeled 'homo'. McKinley is bad enough for new kids, I won't make your lives even more miserable. I can't have that on my conscience."

The brunette then quickly excused himself, and drifted over to where his Latina friend was hitting on someone-gay, as Blaine knew-leaving three shocked boys behind him. Turning to Blaine, Wes said, "Blaine, I think he's even more messed up, in a worse place than even you were."

Blaine nodded somberly. That was not necessarily a good thing.

XOX

Kurt sighed, and waited as Santana continued to flirt around the room. She had been his ride here, and now he was forced to wait for her to finish. It wasn't like this was Lima when he could just walk home. This was Westerville, and Kurt really did not fancy walking for several hours.

He heard soft footsteps behind him, and he turned to see Blaine's kind hazel eyes looking at him. Kurt had been shocked to see Blaine here. He had never expected that the three boys who had showed a speck of kindness to him, without knowing him, were a part of the gay straight alliance. This was doing nothing to help Kurt with crushing any feelings before they started. Was he doomed to crush on any attractive guy who showed him kindness? Hell, Finn's kindness had been allowing him to remove his jacket before he was tossed in a dumpster. Sam had been accepting of him. Not only was Blaine accepting, he seemed to get it. He was a part of a freaking gay straight alliance.

But Kurt couldn't even dare to bring himself to hope that Blaine was gay. He couldn't put his heart through that again. But he could let it hope. There was nothing wrong with hoping. It was healthy, encouraged even. At least, he tried to convince himself of that.

"So what did you think?" Blaine shoved his hands into his pockets, and Kurt observed the stretch of the tight muscles, the whitened knuckles of Blaine's hand. Kurt wondered what it would feel like, having that hand wrapped around his own. Kurt noticed that his hand was only slightly smaller than Blaine's. It probably felt nice.

"It was nice. Different." Kurt didn't really know how to put his feelings into words. It had been…relieving, and exhilarating, and shocking, all at the same time. Some people were going through the same things that he was. They were experiencing the same things. He was not alone.

"You know, we should hang out." Blaine said abruptly, and Kurt jerked his head upwards. "At school I mean. After all, we need to show support, the only two kids who are out at McKinley."

Kurt's jaw dropped again. "Y-you're gay?" He asked, his voice shaky. It seemed too good to be true. It probably was, and Blaine would probably snap that he was straight, and to stop hitting on him.

Blaine nodded. "Yeah. That's why we thought you were homophobic. Sorry about that by the way. But we thought that you just didn't want to touch me. I'm pretty used to that, but I guess you are too."

Kurt nodded. "People have no problem touching me to shove me into lockers, but other than that, you would think being gay was contagious. I'm sorry I didn't touch you, but I expected you to react the same way. You'll understand why I didn't want to."

Blaine nodded, and Kurt cocked his head, looking at him curiously. "Can I ask you a question?" He asked, hoping that Blaine would say yes. He didn't know the curly headed boy too well, but he wanted to, and for more reasons than just a crush influencing his choices and desires. Blaine seemed like a genuinely kind, and interesting person to be around. Besides, Kurt would not be opposed to having a friend who truly understood what he was going through, at least to some degree.

"Sure, go ahead." Blaine said flippantly. "If you ever need any advice, don't hesitate to come to me, seriously. Wes and David are pretty good at the advice thing too, but they don't fully get everything, you know?"

Kurt nodded. He did indeed know. Mercedes was fabulous, but she didn't fully understand his new, warped friendship with Santana. Neither did Kurt really, but he knew that it had become like crack to him. They had been exchanging texts for only a week, but now she joined him constantly. Mercedes would always be his best girl, but Santana was his girl in a different way, a way that he needed.

"Why are you, Wes, and David at McKinley?" Kurt asked honestly. "I was talking to Thomas, and he said you guys used to go to Dalton. I know that place has a zero tolerance policy, so why did you come here? It seems like you took at least five steps back."

Blaine sighed, and ran a hand through his thick head of curls, an act that Kurt found insanely attractive. He was sorely tempted to run his own hand through it, but he managed to show a surprising amount of self control. He patted himself on the back mentally.

"That's actually a pretty long story. I'd be happy to tell you, maybe over a cup of coffee? I know this pretty great place in Lima."

Kurt's heart leaped. Had he really been asked out to coffee by an incredibly attractive, kind, _gay_ boy? Why yes, yes he had. He had to calm himself down, sternly telling his heart that Blaine was just trying to be friendly, almost like a mentor. And though he wanted to, he knew he couldn't come across too desperate. He had lost a friendship with Sam because of that, and he and Finn would never be truly comfortable around each other anymore.

Seeing Santana walk out, Kurt shot Blaine an apologetic expression. "Sorry, but I have to go. Rain check?" He offered, hoping that Blaine would agree.

"No problem, I get it. Maybe Monday, after school?"

Kurt couldn't help the grin that spread widely across his face, the dimples on the corner of each corner of his lips.

"Definitely on Monday."


	2. Chapter 2: The Truth About Friends

Somehow, Kurt had expected Monday to be different. He had expected Blaine to tell him he wasn't gay after all, or for him to decide he no longer wanted to go and have coffee with him. He expected Blaine to decide that it wasn't worth it to hang out with the one kid who could get him tossed into dumpsters on a regular basis.

What Kurt had not expected, was to walk into the choir room, arms linked with Mercedes, to see Wes, David, and Blaine all standing by the piano, next to a beaming Mr. Schue. In fact, it was safe to say that the sight downright shocked Kurt.

The countertenor realized he had dropped his jaw quite a bit over the past few days. He really needed to work on that. Of all the reflexes he had to have, he couldn't exactly say that was the most attractive one. Blaine would probably mention something about how he was going to catch flies. And with all the shocks, he most likely would.

"Wh-what are you guys doing here?" Kurt asked, surprised to see his newfound friends-were they friends?-in the choir room. Were they auditioning for New Directions? Kurt sternly ordered his heart back down his throat. He hadn't yet learned his lessons about getting his hopes up, it seemed. Although lately he seemed to simply be pushing his hopes down, and finding them yanked back up by…well, Blaine.

"Wait, Kurt, you know these boys?" Mercedes stared at him in surprise, though Kurt read the question behind her eyes, asking, 'wait, you know three hot boys and you didn't hook me up white boy?' Kurt shrugged. "Yeah, I met them on Saturday.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the three sexy stooges from Saturday." Santana drawled, strutting into the room, her hips swaying seductively. Kurt arched a brow. "I'm impressed by the amount of alliteration in that sentence."

Mercedes frowned. "Were you guys together or something on Saturday?" Kurt bit his lip. He had turned down Mercedes' offer of shopping in favor of the GSA meeting, but he hadn't told Mercedes exactly what he was ditching her for.

"Yeah, we went shopping at the Lima mall." Santana said breezily, and K winced. She had clearly just worsened the situation, though she probably had no idea. Mercedes turned to him and glared, clearly pissed off.

"Oh really?" She asked, and then continued, "You sure you weren't helping out your dad?"

Kurt winced again. So that was the excuse he had fed Mercedes. Why did he feel like he had gotten caught cheating on his girlfriend with the popular cheerleader? Oh yeah, because he kind of had, although adding a space between the words girl, and friend.

Mercedes quickly stormed off, sitting at the end of the middle row of chairs, and Kurt realized he was clearly not invited to sit by her. Santana shot him an apologetic glance, to which he rolled his eyes. He liked her well enough, but Mercedes was his best friend.

Slowly, the other members of the club began trickling in, all shooting the three boys standing by the piano curious glances. It was interesting seeing their reactions. Of course, Rachel's was the most overdramatic and uncalled for.

Upon waltzing into the room, her eyes widened almost comically at the sight, and quickly pointed to the three, shrieking out, "Spies!" Almost simultaneously, everyone rolled their eyes at Rachel's dramatics. Thankfully, Mr. Schue saw it as an opening.

"No Rachel, these boys are not spies. They transferred to McKinley from Dalton Academy. They'll be joining New Directions."

This news was met with a variety of reactions. Most of the girls seemed interested, after all, it was three attractive guys joining them. But at the same time, with the Jesse incident still fresh in their minds, no one could truly blame Rachel for shrieking out.

"Mr. Schue, this is obviously the Jesse thing all over again!"

Wes, David and Blaine looked around, a little bit clueless, and clearly helpless. Kurt admired the way Blaine's hazel eyes widened, and looked at him pleadingly, practically smoldering. It was incredibly attractive, and more than a little endearing.

"Rachel, no, it's really not. They explained to me why they transferred, and it has nothing to do with show choir. They were a part of the Dalton a cappella group before, but now that they've transferred, they just want to sing. You can't blame them for that. Now, we're all going to be excellent hosts, and listen as they audition."

As if Kurt would do anything but. He cocked his head to the side, listening with interest and curiosity. His expression quickly melted into a cross between awe and shock, as Destiny's Child 'Bills, Bills, Bills' began pouring out of the mouths of the three boys, mainly in Blaine's warm, rich, beautiful tones.

_At first we started out real cool_

_Taking me places I ain't never been_

_But now you're getting comfortable_

_Ain't doing those things you did no more_

_You're slowly making me pay for things_

_Your money should be handling_

Kurt watched as the trio began to dance around the choir room, or at least, attempt to do so. They had nothing on Mike or Brittany, but they at least could move to the rhythm, which was more than could be said for Finn at times. Kurt didn't fancy himself the best dancer in glee, but he was pretty good. He'd have to rank himself among Santana and Tina, to be fully honest. But he held nothing to the lean Asian and the bubbly blonde currently sitting on Artie's lap.

_And now you ask to use my car _

_Drive it all day and don't fill up the tank_

_And you have the audacity_

_To even come and step to me_

_Ask to hold some money from me_

_Until you get your check next week_

Kurt cast a quick, inconspicuous glance around the room, watching the reactions of the rest of New Directions. Finn, Mike and Sam seemed to be bobbing their heads along to the beat, while Puck simply looked bored, a permanent fixture on his face. Mercedes looked disgruntled, but interested, while Tina and Quinn looked on appreciatively. Santana was feigning pleasure, but Kurt saw her sneaking glances at Brittany when she thought no one was looking. The blonde was dancing in Artie's lap, something he seemed to be enjoying immensely.

However, it was Rachel's reaction that intrigued Kurt the most. Gone were her accusations of the trio being spies. Now she seemed to be gazing on with something akin to adoration. Kurt noted, an uncomfortable feeling growing inside him, that she was staring at Blaine in particular. Kurt was surprised that he had to bite back a growl. Really, she was moaning about Finn and their break up constantly, and now she was all up on Blaine? Could Kurt not want anything without Rachel Berry swooping in and taking it?

_You triflin', good for nothing type of brother_

_Silly me, why haven't I found another_

_A baller, when times get hard I need someone to help me out_

_Instead of a scrub like you who don't know what a man's about_

Oh. Oh, oh, oh, now Blaine was hopping on furniture. Kurt watched as Blaine nimbly leapt up onto the empty chair beside Mike. The Asian grinned up at Blaine, nodding his head along to the beat. Wes and David were now dancing along, pulling Brittany and Santana to dance with them.

The three boys began to pull the song to a close, earning the applause from the entire club, Kurt included. As they finished theatrically, Blaine caught Kurt's eye, and tossed him a quick wink. But the moment was quickly ruined as Rachel walked over towards Blaine, and immediately began to flirt.

"You know, I think we would definitely have some amazing duets together in our future. You could easily take over Finn's position. And as leaders of the club, well, people would automatically assume that we were dating.

"Wait, what?" Finn asked, shocked that Rachel would offer up his position so readily, but Kurt wasn't. She could be manipulative at best, cruel at worst. He just hoped that this didn't turn into another Sunshine incident. He loved Rachel, but sometimes, she made that really hard.

"Um, sorry Rachel, but I don't exactly play for your team." Blaine said apologetically, quickly winking at Kurt before turning back to her. Rachel's mouth gaped open, and her eyes quickly flitted towards Kurt. She looked shocked, which actually kind of hurt. What, an attractive guy couldn't be gay?

"So, you mean, you're gay?" Finn asked, looking a little surprised. He too looked at Kurt, and he rolled his eyes. This had gone on long enough. "Oh for god's sakes people, I'm not going to jump the first gay guy I meet!" He cried exasperatedly. Sure he had kind of done that with Sam, but he was pretty sure that he had found a friend in Blaine, and he was in no hurry to lose that friendship.

"So did we make it in then?" Wes asked Mr. Schue, who nodded happily. "Most definitely! We don't do a capella here, but I'm sure you three will be able to fit right in!"

Blaine shot Kurt a quick grin, which Kurt returned hesitantly. He knew that Rachel and Mercedes were watching him intently, trying to gather signs that indicated Kurt would pursue Blaine. Of course Kurt found Blaine attractive. Of course Kurt would love to date a guy like Blaine. But he wouldn't pursue him. He had chased after Finn and Sam to no avail, and he was tired of it. Did he not deserve to have someone chase him? Besides he didn't really know Blaine that well yet. A fact he hoped to change as soon as he possibly could.

Taking a seat behind Kurt, and in front of Santana-who had ignored the fact that she recognized all three boys-Blaine leaned forward and whispered in Kurt's ear, "Are we still on for coffee after school today?" Kurt knew that Mercedes and Rachel had quickly began to whisper over this new development, but he couldn't say that he really cared.

Turning back towards Blaine, he smirked, and said, "Most definitely."

XoX

"So tell me about McKinley."

Blaine and Kurt had driven a few minutes outside of Lima to go to a café that Blaine was familiar with, the Lima Bean. Kurt had never been there, but he trusted Blaine. It was truly scary how much he trusted Blaine, without even really knowing him.

The pair had ordered their coffee, and had just settled down in a booth. Kurt snorted at Blaine's question, but as he looked into the older boy's deep hazel eyes, he sighed, and attempted to formulate a proper response in his head.

"It's basically like any other small minded, backwater town high school out there. Filled with homophobia, conformity, STD's, and other fun surprises." Kurt sighed, and then continued. "I'm sorry, I know I sound bitter, but McKinley is really hard for me to like. Don't get me wrong, I love the glee club and everything, but it's really hard at times, walking into the room to sway in the background and not get a chance to shine, after being slammed into a locker three times in the past five minutes." Kurt's mouth twisted into a bitter smile. "I'm sorry, I sound really selfish, don't I."

"Not at all." Blaine assured him, shocking Kurt by placing his hand over Kurt's own. His eyes knitted together in confusion. "Although I have to say, I'm surprised. Mr. Schuester said that the point of the club was to give everyone an opportunity to shine."

Once again, Kurt found himself snorting into his coffee. "Yeah, as long as that person is Rachel Berry, accompanied by Finn Hudson. And trust me, when Rachel doesn't get a solo, she raises hell about it. Often it's easier to just give in to her. But enough about me and McKinley. I asked you why you guys transferred to McKinley, remember?"

It was Blaine's turn to sigh. "Well, you know that Wes, David and I are part of the Gay-Straight-Alliance. We all joined when I transferred to Dalton Academy, and became a part of the Warblers last year."

Kurt's eyes widened. "The Warblers? Like the Dalton Academy Warblers?" Blaine nodded, and Kurt bit his lip. Were they spies then? Were they trying to pull a Jesse St. James on them, only a year too late? But Kurt did not inquiry further, because he felt that this was deeper than petty sabotage between competing show choirs.

"Well before I went to Dalton, I went to a public school, Jefferson High. It was basically my McKinley. It wasn't nearly as bad as the bullying here at McKinley though. In fact, I was just ignored for the most part. But two weeks before my transfer, I received 'special attention' from the jocks. It ended with them sending me an e-mail telling me to kill myself. My mom freaked out, and immediately transferred me to Dalton. She couldn't have her son being a social pariah."

Now Blaine's lips had twisted into that bitter smile, but Kurt couldn't help but note how attractively the dark haired teenager could wear that particular look. It suited him, in ways that Kurt never would have imagined.

"Dalton has a zero tolerance policy, so I was safe. I wasn't ignored, in fact, when I tried out for the Warblers, just for kicks and because I love singing, I kind of became pretty popular. I became best friends with my roommate Wes, and his roommate David. They were juniors last year, but that didn't matter. And when they found out I was gay, Wes made me go shopping with his girlfriend in his place."

Kurt smiled. The scene was familiar, because when he had come out to Mercedes, she had immediately demanded she take him shopping. Though she still dressed in far too many colors to be considered fashionable, he had found some tasteful outfits for her, and bitched about the fact that she could make a rainbow colored trash bag look good.

"So we joined the GSA. I was really nervous at first, but it got better. I became really active, we all did. And I came to terms with the fact that I really didn't have it that bad in high school. I felt like a coward, and I wanted to face my demons. One of the members suggested I transfer to one of Ohio's public schools with a small gay population. McKinley came up on the radar immediately. It wasn't too far from home, they definitely had a glee club, and it definitely did not have an open mind policy."

Kurt's jaw had dropped. "Y-you mean to tell me that you transferred away from a school that enforced a zero tolerance policy to be some kind of 'gay Yoda' at McKinley?" Kurt shook his head. "I think you're confusing bravery with stupidity, but I'm not exactly complaining. You have my respect, though I think you're insane."

Blaine grinned at Kurt. "Really, it wasn't that big of a deal. Wes and David did it with me, without any hesitation. It kind of shocked me, but I am so grateful for that. So I have support here. And I'm glad I transferred here. Otherwise I never would have met you."

Kurt immediately blushed, and looked down at his coffee, not daring to look up as Blaine continued to speak.

"Kurt, the bullying you're going through, it's not normal. It's not okay. I mean, being tossed into lockers daily, getting slushies thrown on you all the time? That's not right, and frankly I am shocked that the administration has let it slide for so long."

Kurt didn't like the way this conversation was going. It was beginning to sound a little too much like the same empty promises he had been hearing all his life. Clutching the Styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand, he bit his lip.

"Please don't." He begged quietly, his blue eyes wide and pleading. "Just…don't. I don't need someone to hold my hand and make promises they can't keep. I just…I want…I need a friend who…understands. Who has some semblance of understanding to what I'm going through. Mercedes…is great. She's fantastic, my best friend. But she doesn't understand. Santana sort of does, but she's so far in the closet, she's meeting Aslan in Narnia. I just can't deal with this alone. Please don't make me."

Blaine nodded, his eyes kind and understanding. Kurt relaxed his tensed muscles, and breathed out a thank you. He did not need Blaine to be his mentor, he needed Blaine to be his equal, his friend. He was so tired of adults seeming to think they understood what he was going through. Because they had no clue.

As the pair sat there and sipped coffee, they started talking about everything, from Vogue and Natalie Portman, to college football-which Blaine loved-to Disney movies, which both boys adored. They shared so many of the same interests, and bickered playfully over the things they disagreed over. Neither of them truly divulged any real information about their lives, but it didn't matter, because the more they talked, the more they got to know each other. They felt like they had been friends forever, and they knew they would soon be the best of friends. But more than that, as they continued to talk, Kurt knew that he was falling head over heels in love with Blaine, an attractive, kind gay guy. But Kurt stood his ground, and refused to flirt. He would not chase Blaine. He was done doing the chasing. Besides, Blaine was too precious to lose this way. He might have had a friendship similar to this with Sam, if Finn hadn't interfered. But what he had with Blaine at the moment, Kurt wouldn't risk losing.

He wanted Blaine as a boyfriend, but he needed Blaine as a friend.


End file.
